REVIEW   

Giornale Italiano di Dermatologia e Venereologia 2018 October;153(5):692-7

DOI: 10.23736/S0392-0488.17.05697-8

Copyright © 2017 EDIZIONI MINERVA MEDICA

language: English

How to improve adherence to treatment in patients with mild-to-moderate psoriasis

Stefano PIASERICO ¹ ✉, Stefano MANFREDINI ², Alessandro BORGHI ³, Paolo GISONDI ⁴, Massimiliano PAZZAGLIA ⁵, Giuseppe STINCO ⁶, Marina VENTURINI ⁷, Andrea CONTI ⁸

¹ Unit of Dermatology, Department of Medicine, University of Padua, Padua, Italy; ² Department of Life Sciences and Biotechnology, Faculty of Medicine Pharmacy and Prevention, University of Ferrara, Ferrara, Italy; ³ Section of Dermatology and Infectious Diseases, Department of Medical Sciences, University of Ferrara, Ferrara, Italy; ⁴ Section of Dermatology, Department of Medicine, University of Verona, Verona, Italy; ⁵ Division of Dermatology, Department of Specialist, Experimental, and Diagnostic Medicine, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy; ⁶ Department of Medicine, Institute of Dermatology, University of Udine, Udine, Italy; ⁷ Unit of Dermatology, Department of Clinical and Experimental Science, University of Brescia, Brescia, Italy; ⁸ Unit of Dermatology, Department of Head and Neck Surgery, Modena University Hospital, Modena, Italy

Topical treatments are frequently used for the therapy of psoriasis. However, they may be associated with poor adherence in clinical practice. Therapeutic adherence is affected by patient’s characteristics, as well as disease- and treatment-related factors; moreover, satisfaction with therapy, cosmetic acceptability, and complexity of the treatment regimen do also play a role. Since low adherence could lead to treatment failure, it is crucial to elaborate effective strategies aimed at improving patient adherence and thus clinical outcomes in psoriasis. To this purpose, here we have addressed several aspects of dermatological treatment that impact on adherence such as selection of therapy, selection of vehicle, and physician-patient communication. In addition, possible practical measures to improve adherence have also been discussed. In this light, we report that the use of calcipotriol and betamethasone dipropionate (Cal/BD) fixed-combination gel may be associated with improved patients’ preference and better outcomes compared to similar formulations.

KEY WORDS: Psoriasis - Treatment adherence and compliance - Betamethasone dipropionate, calcipotriol drug combination